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City of Brockville Adds Solar Roof to Memorial Centre Arena with Green Municipal Fund and Federal Gas Tax Fund Support

Brockville, Ontario, March 22, 2013 – Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, on behalf of the Honourable Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Dorothy Hector, councillor for the City of Kingston and member of the Federation of Canadian Municipality's National Board of Directors, today celebrated a new solar roof and other energy-efficiency improvements for the Memorial Centre arena. The City of Brockville benefitted from a $1.42-million Green Municipal FundTM (GMF) loan and grant and $146,000 from the federal Gas Tax Fund for these retrofits.

"Our Government is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment for Canadians through the Green Municipal Fund and federal Gas Tax Fund," said MP Brown. "Today's announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with the FCM — is helping communities like Brockville create jobs, save money, and build a greener future for their citizens."

"The Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments," said Councillor Hector. "The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable."

The City of Brockville installed solar panels on the roof of the Memorial Centre and completed a number of energy-efficient retrofits to reduce the centre's operating costs and carbon footprint. Built around an array of 1,066 rooftop solar panels, this is one of Canada's largest municipal solar energy projects.

Upgrades to lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and the installation of a reverse-osmosis water treatment system for the ice-making equipment that allows water to freeze at a higher temperature, will reduce the facility's energy bill and improve the ice quality. The City of Brockville expects the solar panels to save about $200,000 and provide carbon offsets of about 233 metric tons each year of the technology's 20-year life.

"This is a great example of partnering of programs and participants towards a better common future — the Ontario Power Authority's FIT program has provided the City of Brockville with incentives to invest in solar technology," said Brockville Mayor David Henderson. "Today green electricity is flowing from two municipal sites into the Ontario Power Grid — and these projects were further enabled by funding the federal government provided through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Together, Brockville and Ontario and beyond are a little cleaner, a little greener, day by day by day."

The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund. This Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

The federal Gas Tax Fund, which is part of Canada's Economic Action Plan, provides long-term funding to help every municipality across the country build and revitalize public infrastructure. The Government of Canada has invested over $10 billion to date in municipal infrastructure through this Fund alone, which is now a permanent transfer of $2 billion per year. Between 2010 and 2014, the City of Brockville will receive more than $5.3 million from the federal Gas Tax Fund to improve its local infrastructure.